


51 Questions with Rey Johnson

by spicytofuuuu



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Actress Rey, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Oneshot, Reylo - Freeform, Soft Ben Solo, background stormpilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23737456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicytofuuuu/pseuds/spicytofuuuu
Summary: Based on Vogue's "73 Questions" web series, but make it Reylo.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 106
Kudos: 534
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	51 Questions with Rey Johnson

**Author's Note:**

> Major shout-out to my wonderful beta, [JenfysNest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenfysNest/pseuds/JenfysNest).  
> Thank you for your brilliance and for putting up with me.
> 
> Also thank you to [@reylo_prompts](https://twitter.com/reylo_prompts) for the delicious prompt!

Ben Solo has _always_ been a nice guy.

When his mom needed a hand making cupcakes for the annual Christmas party, he didn’t hesitate rolling up his sleeves and decorating 200 cupcakes for 4 hours. 

When his Nana Padmé needed assistance with her new iPad, he drove all the way to the nursing home two hours away to help her figure out how to FaceTime the rest of the family and even installed a mahjong app to keep her occupied. 

When his assistant, Mitaka, was looking for a sub for his recreational dodgeball league, Ben volunteered even though it ate up his entire weekend.

Ben was just _too nice_ to say no.

So when Poe, his long-time best friend, coworker, and editor of Arts & Culture at Resistance Publications, came down with a nasty case of bronchitis and begged him to help cover his interview, of course he said yes.

As the head of IT, Ben’s experience was limited to interviewing potential hires. He did have experience with operating a camera, thanks to a semester of film studies back in university. And apparently Ben had a _voice_ that would make him a perfect interviewer, whatever that meant. Also, no one else would do it.

Carry the handheld camera and conduct the interview as the subject gives a tour of their apartment, that was all Poe asked for.

He was not entirely sure why Poe placed so much confidence in him.

Poe provided him with some questions, and told Ben that it is fine to converse with the subject throughout the process without exactly adhering to the list. It was supposed to be natural, casual, and breezy. 

Ben had to admit that it was an interesting concept. Poe did really well pitching and executing the idea. The online series garnered over 10 million views on YouTube, and brought attention to their magazine through these times where print journalism seemed to be losing the public interest.

The series was cheekily called _Pièce de Rè51stance_. The 51 stood for the amount of questions they would be asking. Poe must have thought he was so funny when he came up with the name.

Ben parked his car across the street from the apartment where he would be conducting the interview, and took another look at the name of his subject. Rey Johnson. 

Truth be told, he didn’t know that much about her. 

He knew the basics. She was an up and coming actress, currently promoting the release of _Galactic Battles,_ a neo-noir action thriller set in space, directed by two-time Oscar winning director Armitage Hux.

(Apparently Poe knew her manager on an intimate level, so Resistance was able to nab an interview slot despite her extremely hectic schedule. “Nepotism is welcomed when it works in your favour,” Poe would say.)

He knew she was British, brunette, and beautiful. He had Googled her pictures, after all. And might have lingered a minute or two. Basic research.

Rey Johnson apparently had agreed to answer anything and everything (again - thanks to Poe’s not-so-secret lover), as long as they did not violate the Non-Disclosure Agreement between her and the movie studio.

He glanced at the dashboard clock, 1:40 PM. Twenty more minutes until the scheduled interview time. He scoffed at the list of questions. It was a mix of generic “How are you feeling about this upcoming project” type of questions and a bunch of more quirky ones like “Would you rather be in a real life version of The Walking Dead or a real life version of Game of Thrones.” Leave it to Poe to come up with these things.

When 1:53 PM hit, Ben decided to get out of his car. He hoped that Ms. Johnson wouldn’t mind him being slightly early.

He crossed the street and eyed the address of her building in front of him. It was a brownstone apartment that had surely been around since the 1900s. It must cost a fortune to live here, considering its prime location in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Ben was not the type to get flustered, at least not that much and not that often. 

_You’re just asking her questions. Don’t sweat it._

His body, however, betrayed his mind. For whatever reason, he was definitely nervous.

As he walked up the stairs, his hands were getting clammy and he suddenly felt thirsty. He chided himself for not grabbing that bottle of water in his car.

He gingerly knocked, and when the door swung open, he realized that he had every single reason to be nervous.

Because, beyond her pictures he had seen online, Rey Johnson was absolutely breathtaking in real life.

He was greeted by a wide smile that quickly turned into a face of confusion.

“You’re not Poe Dameron,” she furrowed her brows.

_Did Poe not inform her that I’m replacing him today?_

“No, my name is Ben. Ben Solo.” He pulled out his Resistance Publications ID tag and held it up for her to see. “Poe is currently battling a serious case of viral bronchitis. He figured you wouldn’t want to catch any of that, considering your busy press schedule…”

She stared at his tag while reaching for her phone by the entry table. She scrolled through what was likely to be her emails and sighed in relief, “Oh okay, Finn did email me earlier today about the change.”

Ben shoved his weight from one foot to another while staring at the floor.

“Oh hey, please come on in! I’m sorry if I came across as rude. For a split second I was scared that you were a stalker or a fucking murderer or something…”

“Sorry about that. I promise you I’m neither,” Ben tried to put his most reassuring voice on. “I’m just gonna put my stuff down here in the corner if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.”

Ben gently placed the equipment bag on the floor, crouching over and taking the Nikon D750 camera out. He checked to make sure that the battery was still fully charged, and hooked up the external microphone attachment. He grabbed the list of questions with his other hand, just in case he needed some ideas later.

He took a good look at Rey, who was barefooted, wearing a grey cable knit sweater paired with a flowy skirt. She had her hair down in waves with some light make-up. She looked approachable and down-to-earth.

“So...how does this work?” Rey fidgeted with her fingers.

“Have you seen the previous interviews before?”

“Not really. I’m not one with that much free time.”

“I follow you around the house while I ask questions.”

She hummed and said, “When you put it like that it sounds so fucking simple.”

“I think it’s supposed to be simple, Miss Johnson.” Ben grinned at her. _She has a bit of a potty mouth_ , he noticed, _and it’s quite endearing._

“Please, call me Rey.” She offered her hand before noticing Ben didn’t have a free hand to offer in return. She reached over and squeezed his forearm instead, and Ben could have sworn his heart skipped a beat.

“Uh,” he cleared his throat, “so I’ll step back outside to ring the doorbell, and we’ll start right as if you just opened the door for me, and you can be like ‘ _Welcome to my crib!’_ or something like that…”

“Oh my god, who says shit like that these days?!” Rey playfully swatted his arm.

_Be still my treacherous heart._

Ben tried to hide his smile (and failed miserably), “You get what I mean...”

“Okay, so let’s start here. Ready whenever you are, Ben!”

And even though he had only interacted with her for a whopping five minutes, there was something about her that lifted the nervousness and anxiety he was feeling.

***

**REY**

Why hello there, The Resistance!

Welcome to my crib!

**BEN**

He-h-hey! How’s it going?

**REY**

It's going great!

Thanks for asking!

Come on in!

**BEN**

It’s a lovely place you got here.

**REY**

Thank you!

I just moved in three months ago and it’s been wonderful!

**BEN**

How excited are you about this?

**REY**

I’m pretty pumped!

I’m also a tad worried I might slip up and curse a bit!

You guys will probably have to bleep me out a couple of times.

Please, have a seat!

**BEN**

So... what’s the first thing you thought about this morning?

**REY**

How my fucking - oh shit - oh bloody hell - please censor me!

How my bloody alarm clock won’t stop ringing.

You would think after eight months of early wake up calls while filming that I would become more of a morning person, but I’m not.

**BEN**

What’s the second thing you thought about this morning?

**REY**

How much I needed a cup of coffee!

**BEN**

One would assume…

**REY**

..that just because I’m a Brit that I would be more into tea?

Common misconception, mate!

**BEN**

How do you take your coffee?

**REY**

Black, like my cold, dead heart!

**BEN**

Do you enjoy living in New York City?

**REY**

Absolutely! It’s a wonderful place to live in.

The hustle and bustle is like no other.

**BEN**

Where did you grow up?

**REY**

London.

**BEN**

Do you ever miss it?

**REY**

There are some days that I do.

I miss the weather - yes, I am that weirdo who loves rainy and cloudy days.

I miss being able to get great fish and chips, since you bloody Americans can’t do fish and chips right.

I miss not getting hounded by paparazzi.

In a way, I sort of miss the anonymity, but…

**BEN**

But…

**REY**

I don’t miss the memories of growing up in London.

So, it’s not a secret that I bounced around in the foster care system for a while.

I grew up feeling very much unwanted and alone.

It’s funny that nowadays, a part of me misses that feeling.

How fucked up is that?

Oh shit, sorry.

For the cursing...and the inappropriate comment.

**BEN**

Hey, your feelings are valid, you don’t have to apologize for having them.

You’re a talented rising star, of course everyone wants a piece of you.

And...we could always edit the footage if you don’t want certain topics to make it on this video.

You get full control of what you want to be put out there.

**REY**

Thank you.

**BEN**

Don’t mention it.

**REY**

Oh what kind of host am I that I never offered you anything to drink?!

Come on!

Off to the kitchen we go!

I’m fixing myself an afternoon cup of coffee!

What about you? Coffee? Tea? Water? Beer? Wine?

**BEN**

I’ll take a cup of black coffee, please.

**REY**

Coming right up!

**BEN**

Okay, so what’s an “old person” thing that you do?

**REY**

HAH!

I mean, I pretty much open my windows and yell to the kids outside to be quiet when it’s past 9 PM.

Does that count?

**BEN**

I think that definitely qualifies. 

What did you think was a cool thing when you were young, but isn’t cool now?

**REY**

Smoking, definitely smoking.

Don’t smoke, kids!

**BEN**

Excellent advice. 

Do you have any tattoos?

And if you do, where?

**REY**

Hey, that’s 2 questions, right?

I have a couple of them, actually.

One here on my left wrist, one here on the nape of my neck and the others...

Let’s just say they are in um, more _private_ locations.

**BEN**

Oh, um, alright then.

Let’s talk more about your upcoming project.

What was the best part about working on _Galactic Battles_?

**REY**

The brilliant cast and crew!

Hux, our fearless leader, is such an amazing director with a vision so big that you don’t realize what’s happening at the moment, you have to take a couple steps back to see it all come together.

Oh, and also the craft services.

So good.

Delicious food, all the time.

**BEN**

What was the worst part about working on _Galactic Battles_?

**REY**

Other than the ungodly call times, I would say the fact that we had to wear these complicated and heavy costumes when it was scorching hot in Atlanta.

I probably sweated off everything I ate and drank.

**BEN**

How did you end up being cast as The Scavenger?

**REY**

Honestly, I got lucky!

I was down in LA auditioning for something else completely, a romcom actually, and while I was waiting...they were auditioning for _Galactic Battles._

My agent, shout out to Rose Tico, got me to send in a tape for it - I think just for shits and giggles, you know?

Extremely lucky!

So, here’s one cup of coffee for you, and one for me.

**BEN**

Thanks.

And I think you’re selling yourself short there.

I’m sure your hard work and determination was a key factor.

**REY**

Wow, thank you!

That’s sweet of you to say.

**BEN**

Well, it’s true. 

Next question...

Did you do your own stunts?

**REY**

Not all of them, no.

I did in the beginning, and then I ended up fracturing both my wrists...so that was that.

**BEN**

Ouch!

What’s the best way to decompress?

**REY**

Taking a nap.

**BEN**

What’s your favourite season?

**REY**

Autumn!

**BEN**

What’s your favourite holiday?

**REY**

Thanksgiving!

**BEN**

What’s your favourite part of Thanksgiving?

**REY**

Pumpkin pies and my manager Finn’s homemade stuffing!

And also seeing my friends!

**BEN**

Food-motivated, I approve.

Do you cook?

**REY**

Yes, but not well.

I much prefer eating someone else’s cooking.

**BEN**

What would you eat for your last meal?

**REY**

Ooft!

Hmm.

This is a hard one, I can’t seem to choose.

Can I keep thinking about this and let you know later?

**BEN**

Sure.

What’s your favourite scent?

**REY**

Petrichor AKA wet dirt smell!

***

Throughout the next hour, Ben learned that Rey’s favourite colour is black. Like her coffee and her heart, she reminded him. 

He learned that she never learned how to swim, and her weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse would be a crossbow just like Daryl in The Walking Dead.

He learned that her go-to karaoke song is Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”. She then proceeded to demonstrate it, complete with the shimmies and air-spankings. It was difficult not to shake the camera too much as he stifled his laugh.

Rey Johnson was a fascinating individual with a sharp, although most of the time self-deprecating, sense of humour. Her outlook on life remained positive despite all the challenges she had growing up.

Interviewing Rey did not feel like a job. He barely looked at the questions on Poe’s list, they were having a genuine conversation. It was more like an exciting date, where you got to know the other person thoroughly and were having a lot of fun while at it. _Not that this is a date_ , Ben reminded himself.

Time went by fast in her company. Too fast.

***

**BEN**

Alright, final lap of questions!

**REY**

Already?

**BEN**

What was something you learned recently that blew your mind?

**REY**

That Betty Crocker was not actually a real person.

**BEN**

I didn’t know that!

What are you most excited about in life right now?

**REY**

For the press tour to be over so I can finally relax and be in one place for more than 48 hours for the next little while.

**BEN**

What’s on your to-do list for your time off?

**REY**

Go on a date, if I can get one.

**BEN**

I think any person would be so lucky to go on a date with Rey Johnson.

**REY**

I hope you’re right.

I’m working on it.

**BEN**

Okay...last question!

What words of advice would you give your younger self?

**REY**

I say, to trust your instincts.

And stop eating cheese because it’s making you break out!

**BEN**

This has been fantastic!

Thanks for having us, Rey!

**REY**

The pleasure is truly mine, Resistance!

***

“So...you did it!” Ben said with a sigh of relief.

“ _We_ did it, Ben. I’ve never been interviewed this way, that was so much fun!”

“All credits go to Poe, he came up with this idea. Brilliant,” Ben paused, “...but don’t tell him I told you that.”

“I’m glad you replaced him today, though.”

“Me too.”  
  


***

Poe ended up having to interview Rey himself after all.

Because as it turned out, Ben never plugged in the external microphone properly.

The entire video was filmed without sound.

But to everyone’s surprise, Rey was not mad at all.

In fact, she barged into Ben’s office the week after her re-interview with Poe, carrying her own camcorder and demanding an interview with Ben.

She asked him out on the 51st question.

***

Ben cooked for her for their third date, and got to see _all_ her tattoos later that night.

***

Two Thanksgivings later, while stuffing herself with a mouthful of pumpkin pie, Rey asked him, “If you could know the absolute and total truth to one question, what question would you ask?”

One question in return, with Ben bending on one knee, she answered yes.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think in the comment section below!  
> Check out my other works:  
> [Strangers in the Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463415)  
> [Leave a Message](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23622775)  
> [#nonewfriends (WIP)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660143/chapters/56794249)


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